By Katherine Tanney

With gas prices double what they were last summer and the cost of air travel rising steeply in response, it’s no wonder that survey after survey shows Americans seriously rethinking their vacation plans. The question isn’t whether to travel, it’s how far.

If you’ve concluded that there’s no place like home this summer or are still thinking about that trip to Europe that might not happen, you’re in good company. More than half your countrymen are also contemplating a vacation at home. It’s been labeled a “staycation.”

The key to getting some fun out of your own town is remembering to dump your usual routines and responsibilities in favor of maximum enjoyment. No doing home repairs. No working in the garden or cleaning the house. You have to treat your city and the towns surrounding it as if you are a tourist. Explore. Laze around. Discover. Indulge.

To get you started, we’ve got some great ideas for getting away from it all without paying baggage and fuel surcharges to the airlines or kissing your hard earned money goodbye at the pump every few hundred miles.

Camp Close to Home (and That Includes the Back Yard)

Is there a national park or other campground in your area? The answer is a click or two away, thanks to the directory at gocampingamerica.com. If you’re lucky enough to find one with a river, get yourself a real rubber innertube at Sportstube (about $22) and prepare to chill while bobbing and floating. If you need supplies for a group or family, there’s an entire page of quality, affordable family-size tents and other gear at discounter Bob Ward’s. Check out the amazing deal on this Appalachian Outside Edge 6-person tent ($60 with free shipping; suggested retail is $109). It’s easy to set up and keeps bugs and rain out. Amazon has a good price on Stansport’s Shasta III 3-room family tent ($152); it’s super roomy and has front and rear doors. If what you crave is solitude, there are ultralight solo tents such as REI’s Quarter Dome T1 tent ($179, pictured). Don’t forget some warm weather sleeping bags, like Columbia’s Bugaboo II ($30). It’s very lightweight and has a comfort rating down to a slightly chilly 55 degrees. Underneath

Pages: 1 2 3 4